Each year, accidental fires cause injuries and widespread loss of life throughout the country. Most such instances occur as a consequence of building fires, and the inability of individuals to escape therefrom in a fire situation. Victims include children who are frightened or confused, or who for some reason or other are unable to exit the building. However, adults are also oftentimes injured or killed as a result of panic or a physical disability which interferes with their ability to successfully operate emergency exits. Those trapped on upper floors of buildings are particularly vulnerable in fire situations.
Domesticated animals are even more at risk from the hazard of fire since they are incapable of operating the doors of buildings in which they are confined. Furthermore, in the case of horses, unless a fire is detected in its early stages and a suitable escape means provided, it is difficult and sometimes even impossible to save the animals because of their reluctance to leave the supposed security of their stalls.
Many attempts have been made to counter the fire hazard with such things as devices which detect the presence of fire and sound an alarm, automatic door-unlocking mechanisms, audio announcement systems, emergency doors with panic bars, and many similar and different systems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,555 for example, even describes a detection device that senses smoke or fire and automatically unbolts a normally locked escape door. However, such a system still suffers from the fact that a panicked victim in a smoke obscured environment sometimes lacks the presence of mind required to find and operate the door release. Unfortunately, the smoke, disorientation, panic, physical infirmity of those trapped, and various other circumstances oftentimes interfere with the safe escape of humans from buildings. In the case of animals, escape is often made difficult by the number of individual stalls involved, and the time required to lead animals therefrom. Despite the numerous devices, systems and other measures commonly employed to circumvent fire hazards, the fire toll continues to rise, and it is all to obvious that a serious problem still remains.